INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATE RESIDENCY PERSONAL STATEMENT (INTERNAL MEDICINE)

The idea of treating people has charmed me since childhood. Seeing my grandfather, a doctor in India, inspired me to cure ailing patients. So, in high school, although I enjoyed mathematics, literature, physics and chemistry, my natural inclination was to take biology as my elective and plan for medical school. I realized my first goal when joined Medical College, the premiere institution in Eastern India. My interest towards Internal Medicine started growing during the early years in medical school. In my first year of med school, I took the opportunity to begin reading Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. The vastness yet the underlying simplicity of the subject enthralled me. I could not wait for the 3rd year medicine wards to begin. I interacted with residents and seniors who were on the wards. What I found compelling was how they discussed a patient in entirety starting from diagnosis and treatment of the illness to offering support and counseling.

When clinics began in the 3rd year of medical school, I found that I was naturally attracted to spending time on the medicine ward. Often, I would arrive early in the mornings before the general rounds started to elicit patient history and perform clinical examinations. I was amazed at how small changes in clinical signs and symptoms could lead to different interpretations from one patient to another. The wide variety of physiological systems encompassed by Internal Medicine further increased the intellectual challenge of making a differential diagnosis. Internship at Medical College in Medicinewas extremely rewarding both clinically and personally. At this state teaching hospital catering to patients from the middle class and underprivileged sections of society, I was close to the cradle of basic human feelings. After each case, I had to reassess myself both as a clinician striving towards perfection and as a person striving towards empathy for my patients. After graduation in I volunteered in an Internal Medicine practice for a year, gaining experience in office based patient care and management in a community setting.

Around that time, I began to consider the idea of incorporating clinical research into a career of medicine. I hoped that the foresight, precision, inquisitiveness, and patience acquired by research would help me become a better clinician. I was inspired into this thought process by my husband, who was planning a PhD. I promised myself that I would expose myself both to medicine and research during the next few years before I was ready for residency. After my marriage in 2001, I joined my husband at US College of Medicine where I completed a few research rotations while I also qualified for ECFMG certification. At present, I am a graduate student involved in a project to understand the effect of estrogen on the hypothalamus and pre-optic areas of the brain in modulating reproductive physiology and behavior.
At this point my medical and research experience has sharpened me to a cutting edge where I am able to make a clinical and practical decisions for myself. The wide variety of cases in Internal Medicine, the challenge of making a diagnosis and the charm of patient care and management has reinforced my belief on my career choice of Internal Medicine. My clinical acumen, diagnostic abilities, communication skills and empathy for my patients would find full meaning here. Endocrinology and Hematology-Oncology are two areas where I wish to further explore with the option of possible advanced training.

As I stand at the threshold of a post-graduate medical career, I am certain that Internal Medicine Residency will be a fulfilling experience both personally and intellectually. I am very excited and look forward to start on these three years of my life.